Rebirth
by jeano
Summary: Sai returns to this earth, reincarnated as Ishikawa Sayoku to have his second chance at attaining the Hand of God. Chapter 5 up. Sorry for the long wait. ^^;;
1. One

Rebirth  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Ishikawa Sayoku was just an ordinary preteen boy who got mediocre marks in everything except History and Mother Tongue, in which he outshone most of his classmates. He was of average height and was not exceptional in his performance in Physical Education class.  
  
He was neither sporty nor nerdy, but was part of the majority crowd that hovered somewhere around the middle. He was considered to be fairly good- looking, what with his fair, flawless complexion, slender build and shaggy dark hair. His eyes were large, dark and brooding, greatly contrasting with his pale, delicate features. It did not help that he maintained a cool demeanour and a composed countenance, for it was a combination of all these factors that cause several girls to feel their hearts flutter in their chests every time he passed them.  
  
Ironically, despite his popularity amongst the girls, he hardly had any friends in school. He was considered to be an introvert by many, for he spoke little, and only when necessary. However, as an insei at the Japanese Go Institute, he had many close friends. It seemed as if he could only get along with those who shared his passion for Go.  
  
Go, yes, the ancient board game that had intrigued him as a child, and even now as a preteen, he still found nothing as interesting or absorbing as Go. He spent little time on his schoolwork, if any, and spent many long hours playing at Go salons, at his fellow inseis' houses, and in his disorganised room arranging kifus.  
  
Sayoku's parents initially dismissed his overzealous interest in Go as one of the many phases in his life, but after he became an insei at the tender age of eleven, his interest in Go grew into infatuation, and that was when his parents sent him to a psychiatrist. Contrary to Sayoku's parents' belief, Sayoku was deemed normal by the renowned doctor. However, he commented that Sayoku's great and exaggerated interest in Go was somewhat unhealthy for a boy his age, and recommended that perhaps Mr and Mrs Ishikawa ought to give Sayoku a break from Go.  
  
This, however, was not quite possible, for Sayoku refused to give up his position as an insei, so Sayoku continued happily as an insei and the psychiatrist's advice was ignored.  
  
While the whole of the Ishikawa clan was fretting about Sayoku's good-for- nothing Go-playing ways, just one person was happy to see him love Go so: Sayoku's paternal grandfather adored GO, and he was the one who ahd personally trained Sayoku and encouraged him. As a result, Sayoku had always looked forward to his weekend visits to his grandfather's, for that meant that he could get to play Go for the entire day.  
  
However, when Sayoku beat his grandfather in a game of Go at the age of ten (and his grandfather was no amateur), he resolved to become even better, and with his grandfather's encouragement, he took and passed the insei test, and set out on the road to becoming a Go professional.  
  
Sayoku's schoolwork suffered consequently, for he spent even more time on Go and minimal time on homework. However, he still continued to shine in History and Mother Tongue, this being extremely surprising, if not shocking, since he hardly touched his textbooks. Moreover, since he kept late nights frequently as a result of studying Go moves from the kifu he owned, he spent many of his school hours sprawled on his desk, asleep and dreaming of Go.  
  
Sayoku found it very strange that he should score As in History and Mother Tongue for he knew the effort he put into his schoolwork wasn't even enough to produce Ds for his other subjects, so there was no reason why he should score in those subjects.  
  
Still stranger was the fact that Sayoku seemed to know virtually everything about Heian court life and Edo habits without reading up on anything to do with the periods in question. What was more, he had already been making many brilliant moves on the goban resembling those of the genius Honinbo Shusaku during games with his grandfather since he was seven.  
  
It was as if he was carrying memories and knowledge from his previous life. Had he loved Go this much then?  
  
*****  
  
Shindou Hikaru sat in his pod, flipping through 'Weekly Go', reading about his potential opponents and studying kifu of matches past. He was much mellower now, as compared to the pubescent teenage boy he had been about ten years ago.  
  
Life hadn't really changed much; to him, it was just like when he was a newcomer to the professional Go scene. Perhaps he was busier, what with the many events and ceremonies he had to attend. Only twenty-six, and already holding the title of jyuu-dan, his future was indeed very promising.  
  
Although he devoted much of his time to Go, he knew he had to find time to socialise, for his biological clock was ticking. Akari still followed him like she used to in their childhood days, and strangely, he never seemed to figure out why.  
  
Just then, Hikaru stopped flipping and stared intently at the pages in front of him. The contents of the article concerned the successful candidates of the annual Go professional test. All the three who had passed were inseis, one of whom was a preteen.  
  
Somehow, Hikaru found himself immensely interested in this preteen boy, whose raven locks fell messily over his brow. He was Ishikawa Sayoku, and only twelve. Hikaru found his photograph strangely intriguing and stared at it as if in a trance.  
  
There seemed to be something familiar about Ishikawa Sayoku, at least to Hikaru, who felt as if he had met him previously before.  
  
No, he did not just meet him briefly. he knew Ishikawa Sayoku. those expressive, solemn eyes, that dark mop of hair, those delicate features. it seemed remotely familiar to Hikaru, but somehow Hikaru could not place it.  
  
Then it came to Hikaru in a flash.  
  
He had known him when he was twelve, and then lost him just as abruptly when he was fourteen.  
  
The resemblance was both uncanny and unmistakeable.  
  
Ishikawa Sayoku was Sai.  
  
  
  
  
  
A/n: edited version of chapter 1. hope you liked it. =) 


	2. Two

Rebirth  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Hikaru was jolted awake by his nagging alarm clock. He groped for the device on his bedside table while his eyes adjusted to the bright rays of light shining through a gap between his pale curtains. The clock, knocked onto the floor by Hikaru's blind hands, stopped beeping abruptly. Hikaru picked up the clock and stared at its face for several seconds before the time actually registered in his foggy mind.  
  
It was eleven fifteen. What time did Akari say she'd come over? Ten, sharp.  
  
'K'so!' Hikaru cursed himself for spending too much time pondering about Sai and Ishikawa Sayoku the previous night; that had robbed him of more than two hours of precious sleep. He hopped out of bed hastily and nearly tripped over the mess of magazines, newspapers and kifu he had left behind the previous night. He made a beeline for his closet and grabbed some clothes; he was clad in only his boxers.  
  
After making himself presentable enough, Hikaru opened his front door, and true enough, Akari was still leaning casually against the corridor wall, waiting patiently.  
  
Her face lit up when she saw Hikaru emerge sheepishly from behind the door. 'Hikaru! I've made breakfast for you!' She held up the bento boxes proudly. Hikaru greeted her, and then apologised for making her wait so long.  
  
Akari shook her head violently. 'Go professionals need to get lots of rest. come! Let's have breakfast!'  
  
Hikaru smiled to himself. Akari hadn't changed much; she was still the bubbly girl he had known from childhood and she still made the best bento meals he had ever tasted.  
  
He failed to notice the faint blush that crossed her face when his arm brushed her shoulder as she bounced into his room.  
  
*****  
  
Hikaru made his way casually to the cramped room allocated to the journalists and editors of Go Weekly. He wore a determined frown on his face, his brow deeply furrowed. He was a man on a mission, to find out more about the boy Ishikawa Sayoku, and perhaps take a look at his kifu, if possible.  
  
Unfortunately, though, for Hikaru, the office was empty, save for a newcomer who didn't know nuts about Go. It took a few seconds for the reason for everyone's absence to register in his mind. This was the day of the highly-anticipated match between Touya Akira and Ogata-sensei, with Touya contending for the prized title of Meijin. Somehow, this had slipped Hikaru's mind, but this was hardly surprising, for his brain had been saturated with revived memories of Sai, as well as his growing curiosity about Ishikawa Sayoku.  
  
In any case, he had to hurry if he wanted to catch them in action, so Hikaru too the stairs two at a time to the viewing room on the third floor of the Japanese Go Institute and found the small room packed with reporters, as well as several Go professionals. None of them turned when Hikaru opened the door, but Hikaru managed to spot a few familiar figures anyway.  
  
He quietly settled himself into a chair near the back of the room and quickly assessed the progress of the game, which had barely started. Touya's chances were probably 50-50, he concluded, as Akira placed his black stone in a piece of white territory.  
  
*****  
  
The day's time was up and the envelope was sealed. Akira looked mentally and physically drained. Hikaru, wearing his typically gaudy clothing, was talking animatedly to his bunch of his ex-insei friends. He remembered the one with the brown spiky hair from some argument during his teenage days. And the one with the slightly ruffled hair, Isumi, if he wasn't mistaken, was supposed to be quite a good player. Strangely, Touya Akira hadn't played against him all these years, but he had heard that his talent and skills had impressed Kuwabara Honinbo.  
  
Akira's mind wandered back to the unfinished game, and wondered what type of play Ogata had decided upon. He then reviewed all his moves slowly, assessing his chances. He was so deep in thought that he did not notice Hikaru standing before him until the person in question waved his hand in his face in an almost child-like manner.  
  
Akira looked up and straight at Shindou Hikaru's face. It was evident that he was absolutely bursting to tell him something. The words shot out from Hikaru's mouth like a string of bullets,' IwanttotalktoyouaboutSai.' Excitement had made Hikaru's face flushed and his tongue knotted, but Akira heard him clearly enough. Being the polite person he was, he nodded understandingly and said,' Sure. Come let's go have a drink somewhere.'  
  
Hikaru was, as usual, flustered by Akira's politeness, but eventually accepted his offer. Akira drove them to a small and quiet café so that they could speak without interruption about Sai.  
  
Hikaru sipped his tea slowly to calm himself and then said clearly,' I think Sai has returned. I think he has reincarnated as one of the new Go professionals this year, as Ishikawa Sayoku.'  
  
'How can you be sure?' Akira was evidently stunned by this new revelation made by Hikaru.  
  
'Remember, I told you about that ghost Fujiwara no Sai who possessed me? I saw him day in, day out for nearly three years. How could I ever forget his face? Moreover, this Ishikawa Sayoku's resemblance to Sai is so uncanny, I feel as though I'm looking at a modern and younger version of Sai.'  
  
'But.'  
  
'Touya, my gut feeling says that Ishikawa Sayoku is Sai reincarnated. Anyway, we'd know if he's Sai when we play him. If he really is Sai, I believe we'll be meeting him soon.'  
  
Akira was rendered speechless by Hikaru's impressive speech and nodded silently. He brought his cup to his lips and sipped his peppermint tea. The refreshing wave characteristic of the beverage washed over him, and he felt revitalised instantly. However, the thought of playing against the legendary Sai once more made his head feel light. It was pure euphoria that Akira felt at that very moment. The three games he had played with Sai were still deeply etched in his mind; twelve years had not eroded these memories at all.  
  
Akira suppressed his excitement, although he felt like jumping around and dancing, and successfully maintained his composed countenance while he fantasised about his next game against 'Sai'.  
  
His thoughts were rudely interrupted by a shout from Hikaru, who had jumped up from his seat, spilling his unfinished tea on the table. 'There! I see Ishikawa Sayoku! He's going inside the pachinko stall with a bunch of friends! Come! Let's go talk to him now!'  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/n: sorry about the long wait. I needed to find out more about the Japanese names for Ogata and Kuwabara since I'm reading the Chinese translation. XP I really appreciate your reviews, thanks a million for them. ^^ Oh yes, this fic is dedicated to Shao Feiya, who helped me with the character names. =) 


	3. Three

Rebirth  
  
Chapter 3  
  
Akira sped after Hikaru once he had settled the bill, his expensive leather shoes slapping the pavement loudly. Heads turned and people stared; Akira's behaviour was indeed rather unbecoming of his attire, and it was not everyday that people saw a young man in a suit, running like the devil himself was behind him, his tie flapping all over the place.  
  
Right then, Akira didn't care what the world thought or said of him. All he wanted was to see Ishikawa Sayoku, or perhaps even play a game against him. Only then would he know if he was the one he had striven to beat all these years.  
  
Hikaru, who had a head start over Akira, reached the crowded pachinko stall. No one paid any notice to him, other than the receptionist, who greeted him politely. Hikaru, in his baggy orange shirt, faded jeans and dyed fringe, looked very much in place here. As Hikaru was scanning the rows of machines, Akira burst into the stall, breathless. A couple of people turned from their games to stare at him: ruffled hair, crooked tie and muddy shoes. He didn't really belong here, and he knew it, but he didn't care; all he wanted to do was to find Ishikawa.  
  
Meanwhile, Sayoku and his friends were settling comfortably into their games, with one of them waiting for his turn. Just then, someone vacated a booth and he made a beeline for it. In his haste, he failed to notice Hikaru and bumped into him. As he turned to apologise, he recognised Hikaru and Akira and with ill-concealed shock, yelled,' Shindou-sensei! Touya- sensei!'  
  
All the other insei's ears pricked up and they turned from their games to greet Hikaru and Akira. Sayoku, who was seated at the end of the row, was completely unaware of Hikaru's presence until one of his friends elbowed him. Sayoku reacted by jumping up from his stool and was just about to scold his friend for interrupting his game when he caught sight of Hikaru.  
  
Their eyes met, and time seemed to slow down for the two of them. Sayoku heard his blood pounding in his ears and saw many memories of Hikaru flash by him. Hikaru in the Go club, Hikaru as an insei, Hikaru at the pro exam, Hikaru.  
  
'Hikaru.' he heard his voice call, and the images before him began to fuse together in a maddening swirl, then everything exploded into the blackness that overcame him.  
  
*****  
  
'Ishikawa-kun!'  
  
'Sayoku!'  
  
'Ishikawa-kun! Wake up!'  
  
Sayoku opened his eyes groggily and his gaze met that of Hikaru, Akira and several of his insei friends gathered around him. Wait, he was on the floor. and several other customers at the pachinko stall were staring curiously at him. 'What. what happened?'  
  
'What do you mean, "What happened"? You suddenly fainted and collapsed on the floor!', one of his insei friends, Itsuki, said.  
  
'Oh. I did?' Then he looked up and once again, met the concerned gaze of Hikaru and Akira.  
  
'Are you okay?', asked Hikaru. 'You-'  
  
'Hikaru!!' Sayoku suddenly broke out of his trance-like state, jumped up and enveloped Hikaru in a tight hug. Hikaru was rather taken aback by this rather unexpected gesture. Itsuki and the other inseis were practically gaping at the strange, if not rude, sight before them. Akira simply stood apart from the rest, observing the entire situation quietly, unnoticed by the others.  
  
When Sayoku finally released Hikaru, he noticed that there were tears shining in Hikaru's eyes. All this while, all Hikaru had of Sai were memories; he did not even possess a photograph of his friend, mentor and opponent. Admittedly, after all those long years of Sai's absence, the memories had faded somewhat, but it all came back to him during the brief hug he shared with Sayoku.  
  
'Hika-no, no! Shindou-sensei.'  
  
Wiping away his tears with the back of his hand, Hikaru shook his head as if to clear all the emotion that was clouding his sight, and when he had finally composed himself sufficiently to speak, he said, 'Ishikawa-kun, would you care to play a game with me, now?'  
  
Sayoku turned to his friends as if to seek their approval, and when he saw the supportive glint in their eyes, he made up his mind and replied, 'Hai!'  
  
*****  
  
The game between Hikaru and Sayoku had been going on for some time already. The entire gang of inseis and Akira were crowded around the small table at a Go salon across the street from the pachinko stall. Akira was carefully analysing the game and he agreed that Ishikawa-kun was a formidable opponent, although he wasn't quite as good as Hikaru, yet. However, his moves reeked of Sai's outstanding playing style, or he was greatly influenced by Honinbo Shusaku. Akira reminisced his games with Sai nearly fifteen years ago, and came to the conclusion that Sayoku had the potential to play like Sai. By then, he would become one of the best players in Japan, and perhaps the world as well.  
  
Right then, Akira turned his attention back to the goban. It seemed like Hikaru had the upper hand, and was almost sure of winning the game. Hold on, the cluster of Ishikawa-kun's black seeds near the bottom left corner looked rather harmless, but on closer scrutiny, Akira realised that they were really a dangerous trap.  
  
Akira glanced at Hikaru, who showed no sign of having noticed the trap, but was instead calmly capturing more territory. And, walking steadily towards Ishikawa-kun's trap.  
  
Meanwhile, Sayoku was gleefully watching Shindou-sensei walk towards his 'brilliantly' thought of trap, but in his complacency, he failed to note that Shindou-sensei was in fact making use of Sayoku's trap to turn the tables on him. Akira noticed this, and smiled, relieved that Hikaru was not about to ruin his own reputation by losing in a fair game to a fresh sho- dan.  
  
'I have lost.'  
  
As expected, Hikaru won the game easily, but what Sayoku had won was the respect of Akira, Hikaru and his friends from his insei days. Sure, it was almost taken for granted right from the start that a sho-dan would lose to a jyuu-dan, but Sayoku put up a good fight right to the very end of the game, and that was more than enough.  
  
However, unbeknown to Sayoku, Hikaru and Akira had come to the same conclusion by the end of the game: Ishikawa Sayoku would someday be as great as Sai, the legendary Go wizard who left his mark deeply etched in the online Go world.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
A/n: wow. This chapter took me 2 months to write T_T. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I also would like to apologise for the long wait. I really appreciate your reviews ^^ I never really expected this fic to garner so many supporters =D. Just in case you all are wondering, the next update would take maybe another month or so, since the teachers are practically piling work on us -_-(). In the meantime, I would like to wish all of you a very Happy Lunar New Year and, of course a very very belated New Year. ^^ Ja! 


	4. Four

Rebirth  
  
Chapter 4  
  
Akari looked up from her food and across the table. Hikaru, who was seated opposite her, had his chopsticks halfway to his mouth, which was open. They had been sitting there at the ramen stall for fifteen minutes already, but Hikaru's food was almost untouched. Akari, on the other hand, was already halfway through her lunch. Usually, Hikaru would have already finished his food and would probably be asking for seconds.  
  
Sighing to herself, Akari decided to snap Hikaru out of his trance. 'Ne, Hikaru, your food's cold already.'  
  
'Ah? Oh! Wow, what just happened?'  
  
'I should be the one asking that.'  
  
'Eh?'  
  
'You barely touched your food, and you were like this-' Akari mimicked Hikaru's earlier "pose"-'for at least five minutes. What's wrong? Is there anything on your mind that you'd like to share with me?'  
  
Hikaru stared hard at his food. He hadn't ever wanted to tell Akari about the Sai episode about ten years back because he was worried that Akari would blab about it and soon the whole world would know. Well, that certainly wasn't what he wanted, but when he looked up and stared into Akari's earnest brown eyes, he knew that she was sincerely worried for him.  
  
Hikaru weighed his options, pondering whether to tell Akari about Sayoku and Sai. If he told her the whole truth, and if news of it got around to Go Weekly or worse still, the tabloids, he would be in hot soup. However, if he told her a white lie to get out of this situation (he had never been good at lying; his expression always gave him away), she would know, and would either press him for the truth, or worry about it, and he didn't like the sound of either.  
  
So Hikaru came up with the ultimate solution. As he leaned across the table to kiss Akari, he guessed that she would be too happy to care about what troubled him earlier. Hikaru smiled just a split second before their lips met, and decided that eventually, it was still Sai who helped him admit what he truly felt for Akari.  
  
*****  
  
Sayoku sat alone on a park bench, deep in thought. His pale and slender arms were folded across his chest, and his brow was slightly furrowed. This was one of the rare times that he was alone; he was usually with other insei when he wasn't in school or at home. Sayoku wanted to think, to ponder, to remember his past. He didn't want to think at home; the goban sitting next to his desk was just way too tempting.  
  
He wondered why he had impulsively called Hi-no, Shindou-sensei "Hikaru" that day in the pachinko stall, and why he hugged him for apparently no reason. Sayoku recalled that his limbs and his tongue seemed to move of their own accord then, or something like that at least. He recalled the class nerd, Watanabe Takeshi, mumbling to himself something about reflex actions. Since Sayoku had been sitting next to him then, some information concerning the topic had managed to penetrate his thick skull.  
  
'Reflex action. something like involuntary action. but then again it involves some form of threat. Hmm.' Sayoku mumbled to himself what snippets of information he could still remember. However, he knew that jumping to hug your sensei wasn't quite a reflex action. In fact, it seemed like Sayoku had become a puppet and a puppeteer had controlled the strings and made him hug Shindou-sensei and call him by his first name.  
  
That freaked Sayoku out. He didn't like the idea of being called a puppet but right then, he knew that that was the closest he could ever get to the answer. He had been controlled by something, but what? A ghost seemed to be the likeliest possibility. Maybe the ghost knew Shindou-sensei well. Maybe the ghost, or whatever it was, had been Shindou-sensei's girlfriend.  
  
The more Sayoku thought about the matter, the more confused he got, and the more he tried to sort things out in his head, the drowsier he got. Eventually a wave of sleepiness overcame him, and unable to fight it, Sayoku fell into a light slumber, in the shade of the afternoon sun.  
  
*****  
  
'Hikaru! Hikaru! Uchitai!'  
  
'Eh?' Sayoku opened his eyes and looked around him. He wasn't in the park. He was in someone's room, Shindou-sensei's room to be precise. Shindou- sensei looked very much younger; perhaps he was twelve or so. His shaggy hair was pretty much the same-dyed blonde fringe, but his cheeks were chubbier. Pinchable. Sayoku observed the state of Shindou-sensei's room: messy, typical of a boy's room. A very ancient-looking television set, a few electronic products so old he couldn't even recognise them, a refrigerator, cupboards, a bed and a goban. Ah, so he had gone back in time.  
  
Shindou-sensei was lying lazily on his bed, reading manga. He seemed rather irritated with the voice that was whining, pleading with him to have a game of Go.  
  
The voice wasn't quite masculine, but neither was it feminine. In fact, it sounded a little like Sayoku's own voice, which was beginning to break. He looked around, searching for the source of the voice, and realised that it was behind him. Turning around, he saw the profile of a young man dressed in Heian court garb, tall hat and all, just like in the history books. However, the person in Heian clothes wore his hair as a woman would during his time, raven hair tied at the middle of his back.  
  
At first, Sayoku dismissed the man as a historical reenactor who got confused between what the men and women wore, but then he noticed that he was floating above the ground. A ghost! After overcoming his initial shock, he studied the apparition's face and realised that the figure before him looked exactly like an older version of him would. What in the world was going on? Did this ghost. possess him as well?  
  
'Hikaru.' The ghost beseeched once more, gesticulating earnestly towards the goban in the corner.  
  
Shindou-sensei covered his ears and tried to ignore the ghost but to no avail. Eventually he gave in. 'Sai, ONLY one game. No bargaining.'  
  
The ghost's, or Sai, face lit up immediately, his eyes shining as Shindou- sensei went to get the goban, sighing in defeat. Sayoku felt a great sense of déjà vu right then. Wasn't this precisely how he got his grandfather to play Go with him when he was young? And wasn't that exactly he had behaved when his Ojiisan finally gave in?  
  
Sayoku began to wonder about his connection with the ghost as he watched Shindou-sensei and Sai play-Shindou-sensei placed their stones while Sai used his fan as a pointer.  
  
Maybe, just maybe, they were related some way, somehow. Their behaviour was startlingly similar, and they even looked and sounded uncannily alike. Upon observation, Sayoku also noted that they even played with a similar style, only that Sai was much more professional, more like Honinbo Shusaku, the man Sayoku adored so much. Oh, and even their names sounded similar too. Sai and Sayoku. If you dragged the "Sa" before joining it to "yo", their names really sounded uncannily alike, although they were born millenniums apart.  
  
*****  
  
Sayoku opened his eyes to a dusky sky as the rain fell. As he pulled his navy blue Nike jacket over his head, he decided that perhaps he would speak to Shindou-sensei about Sai. Sai, the Heian courtier who had appeared mysteriously in his dream, along with Shindou-sensei. Just who was he? And what was he doing in modern Japan with Shindou-sensei?  
  
It just didn't make any sense to him at all.  
A/n: Hey guys, sorry for making you all wait so long. school homework and tests and homework and tests. T_T sigh. finally got the chance to upload. It's the last day of the hols you know. sigh. hope you enjoyed the fic, and I pray hard I'll be able to find time to write the next chapter ASAP. Thanks so much for the reviews again, I really appreciate your support. Thanks so much again, and thanks for being so patient with me ^^ 


	5. Five

**Rebirth**

¡¡

I can't remember if I already put a disclaimer, but here it is, anyway. Don't own, don't sue. 

¡¡

Chapter 5

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Sayoku walked in the vague direction of his home, deep in thought. He was overwhelmed by his discovery of his past, and he pondered the reliability of his dream. he had never been a staunchly superstitious boy, but he did express his faith in Buddhism by visiting temples with his parents weekly. 

So it was, to him, a very logical possibility that he was the reincarnate of that Heian courtier he saw in his dream, Sai. However, something told him that it was rather unusual, if not strange, that he should remember bits and pieces of his past life. What was more, it seemed that these recollections were coming to him through his dreams. Perhaps, more would be revealed to him as he slept that night...

'Oof!' Sayoku felt all the breath being knocked out of his lungs as he bumped into a tall and thin man, who wore his hair in a rather foolish-looking bowl haircut. After all, how often was it that one saw a modern young man, decked in a suit and tie, with such a silly looking hairdo?

Sayoku looked up into a pair of shrewd green eyes that were tinged with concern. 'Are you okay? I'm so sorry... I should have been looking where I was going...' The man's voice was deep and mature, and sounded disturbingly familiar. 

'Oh, I'm okay. Thanks for your concern,' Sayoku said, adjusting his windbreaker. 

As Sayoku looked closely at the man's fine features, he discovered, much to his horror, that he had bumped into Touya-sensei! Embarrassed that he had not recognised him earlier, Sayoku bowed deeply and greeted Akira, while apologising for his rudeness. 

Akira smiled broadly at the flustered Sayoku. But he hadn't heard Sayoku's muttered apologies. All he could think of right then was how to express his eagerness to have a game of Go with the young prodigy, without sounding too anxious at the same time. 

'Ishikawa-kun, would you like to play a quick game with me?' Akira cringed inwardly at the abruptness of his invitation. This wasn't surprising, however, since he had been awaiting a chance to play with this boy for weeks. Here was his chance, and of course he had snatched at it, albeit a tad too eagerly. 

Sayoku stared at Akira, visibly stunned by the unexpected invitation. First, he had played against Shindou-sensei, and now, Touya-sensei was requesting to have a game of Go with him! Dizzy with excitement, he blurted out, 'Hai!' , and wondered why the two most outstanding young Go professionals had graciously extended their invitations to such an unknown and lowly player like him. 

Suddenly remembering that Touya-sensei was Shindou-sensei's close friend, he decided that he could drill Touya-sensei about 'Sai' once their game was over.

*****

Sayoku and Akira heaved a huge sigh of relief once the game was over. It had been a close match, since both players had put in their all for the game, particularly Sayoku, who was anxious to impress Touya-sensei. 

Akira, on the other hand, was deep in thought, and he analysed every one of Sayoku's moves. After some time, he decided that the answer to his question was rather obvious-- Ishikawa Sayoku was Fujiwara no Sai. 

Of course, he had no clue as to how Sai looked, spoke or behaved. Even though he had managed to persuade Hikaru to sketch Sai, it wasn't of much help, since Hikaru was hopeless at drawing. But Ishikawa Sayoku's moves on the Go board reeked of Sai's power and strategy. 

Akira had learnt from Hikaru that Sai was from the Heian period, and was a victim of court politics. He had an undying passion for Go, and lived and died for the sake of the game. He was indeed an honourable man, and really ought to have his name etched deeply into the history books. Unfortunately for him, he died too early, and only began to make his mark on the Go world when he was a ghost. 

Sayoku watched Touya-sensei's brows furrow with concentration, and waited patiently for his chance to ask the long awaited question: _Who was Sai? And what was his relation to Shindou-sensei? _

A pregnant pause ensued, and Sayoku watched Touya-sensei respectfully, not wanting to interrupt his flow of thought. He stared silently at the Goban, not daring to inspect his surroundings, fearing that it would be deemed rude by his host. 

However, after some time, Sayoku, being the restless and overly curious teenager he was, began to look around him, albeit out of the corner of his eye. He was currently in a traditionally decorated room, tatami mats, screen doors and all. Well, besides that, there wasn't much to see in this room besides the few calligraphy scrolls hanging from the wall, since it was probably specially designated as a room to play Go in. 

At long last, Akira looked up from the board, and he was immediately met by the eager gaze of Sayoku. 'Anou... Touya-sensei, who was Sai?'

Akira started, surprised by the unexpected question. Then he took a deep breath, and proceeded to tell Sayoku all about Sai. 

'Ishikawa-kun, Sai, otherwise known as Fujiwara no Sai, possessed Shindou Hikaru from the span of time when Shindou was twelve, until he was fifteen. He was the one who made Shindou the genius he is now, and perhaps, without Sai, Shindou might be holding some other job instead of this one now...' 

Sayoku stared in wonder, as Akira continued telling him about Sai, as the sun began to slip behind the western horizon. 

*****

Shindou Hikaru groaned lazily and stretched, momentarily forgetting about the sleeping figure beside him. Akari sighed as she shifted beside Hikaru. Worried that he might rouse her, Hikaru stopped moving unnecessarily, and then settled for a rather uncomfortable position, while holding Akari's slender body close to his own. 

Staring out the window into a starry sky, Hikaru began to wonder about Ishikawa Sayoku once more, all this while still stroking Akari's hair absently. 

Was Sayoku indeed Sai? Or was it simply a coincidence? Did Sayoku play like Sai because he had studied Honinbo's kifu? 

Perhaps he should go seek Sayoku out one day... 

Then the truth might be revealed...

Perhaps... Just perhaps... 

Hikaru tightened his hold on Akari's slim waist, and pressed his lips to her forehead, as she moaned softly in her sleep.

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A/n: Hello. *Dodges rotting vegetables* I'm so terribly sorry I took, what, 3 months to update this fic. I'm really really really really sorry about this, and I hope you haven't forgotten about me XP I've been bogged down by homework and tests and projects and competitions and homework and tests and projects. Bweh. This is horrible. I hope this chapter will be enough to satisfy you until, uh, September, hopefully. And at the end of the year, I hope and swear that I'll update more often. 

Uh, and I'm trying to end the fic as soon as I possibly can without being abrupt so you readers out there won't have to suffer much longer. XP

_Patience is a virtue. _


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